A Lie I Could Not Keep
by DrunkOnAdventure
Summary: Luffy always had trouble keeping promises, but even he couldn't promise a lie.


DOA: I want to become free and get what I truly need in life so….until that happens...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this fanfic except for Isamu who I made up in 2 minutes.

The sounds of laughter and merriment filled every corner in the soggy, rundown building located at the corner of the pier. The place, held only by rotting planks of wood and rusty nails, seemed to be nearly falling apart but yet it held together like a wall of bricks. The only people in there were drunken men in ragged clothing and grins with loose holes in it. They were drinking, eating, dancing, and perhaps celebrating the recovery of an expensive treasure. The atmosphere was light; a band was playing whom no one hired and people were clinking glasses with complete strangers. Old men were swapping stories of their life and tales of the sea, but it was so loud that you couldn't hear anything and mistook compliments for insults. Fights broke out every minute and there was always the sound of a fist coming in contact with someone's jaw. Drinks came from nowhere, strangers would hand you a glass of rum for no reason and sometimes, they would start to chant "chug, chug, chug!" Several bodies were lain out across the floor, many drunken men tripping over them. No one was dead, just passed out from a fight, and too much drinking or some were just taking a nap. This couldn't be considered an ordinary bar; it was barely considered a legal bar. But, nobody complained, everyone liked it this way, with no worries, only beer. There was a strange scent in the air of the tavern; it was a mixture of alcohol and the ocean. It was the smell of a pirate. This was a pirate's bar. In a pirate's bar, rivalries are forgotten and friendships are forged. Everything was, I guess, peaceful. Then the creak of the door opening and the sound of thumps of heavy boots against hollow wood entered the fray. The atmosphere turned dark and heavy and the smell of alcohol and sea salt were overwhelmed by the stench of blood. It quieted down immediately after everyone looked up to gaze upon the new arrival. He walked solemnly across the bar to what seemed to be the only durable seat in the building. His black coat swayed as he took each step, it was a tattered piece of cloth with ripped edges and the only part intact was the hood that shielded his face. As he sat down in the comfy cushion chair, he waved to a man holding an armful of drinks. The man was a bit dazed by the sudden manner at first, but then realised what he was asking for and immediately handed a glass to the young gentlemen with a frightened expression plastered on his face. He took the drink in one hand and lifted the rim up to his lips. After he took a sip and found the drink to be drinkable, he gestured with his other hand to continue the party. Everyone hesitated before continuing what they were doing, but soon it was as loud as before, louder even.

A small, teenage boy hopped into the seat across from the hooded man and grinned while resting his chin on his hands.

"Hey…..are you really who I think you are?" The boy bluntly asked with anticipation.

"And who's that?" He took another sip.

"Well…….who can silence a room full of deadly pirates, has a black cloak and……" He pointed to his waist. "Has three swords?"

"No clue."

The boy frowned. "It's you! The greatest swordsman in the world! The one person who defeated Mihawk! Roronoa Zoro, the greatest swordsman ever!"

Zoro slid his hood off, exposing his short green hair to the public's view, and looked over at him as if to say, are you happy now? Then went back to drinking, thinking that the boy would leave him alone. He knew he was wrong when he saw a hand sticking out in front of him, shaking with anticipation.

"I'm Isamu! Nice to meet you!" He smiled, waiting for Zoro to shake the hand that he placed in front of Zoro's face. Zoro ignored his offer for a handshake, but Isamu didn't move his hand away. A few moments passed and Isamu still kept his hand out towards Zoro.

"Isamu…..that means warrior, right?"

Isamu looked curiously at Zoro for a reason for the sudden question. "Yah….."

The two of them stayed like that for a few minutes, unmoving and silent. Zoro crossed his arms and closed his eyes with his face facing the table.

"You know I'm not going to shake your hand."

"I know." Isamu said straight faced without the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice. He finally rested his hand down on the table and decided to bombard the swordsman with questions instead. According to what Isamu had heard about Zoro, he was frightening, rude, and anti-social. He exchanged a few words with the man and sat across from him for 5 minutes and already the rumours were confirmed.

"So, what's a member of the straw-hat crew doing here?" Zoro opened his eyes, but didn't respond.

"Is it true you guys found one piece?"

That was true, Zoro knew it but he didn't say anything. The dream that seemed so far away to them finally came true, but it wasn't at all like what he imagined.

"Where's the rest of the crew?" Zoro glared up at him, he hated when people asked him questions. It was like being interrogated, and some questions were a bit personal. "We all went our separate ways."

Isamu pouted in disappointment. "Aww! I wanted to meet them!" Isamu's expression suddenly grew solemn. "…You know…. Luffy-san? He's my idol! I want to be just like him!" Isamu grinned at the thought of his one true hero and his dream. Zoro flinched at sound of his former captain's name, Isamu didn't seem to notice though, and he was too busy daydreaming about the life of a pirate. And then Isamu started to hum a song, the second he started to hum Zoro's eyes widened. It was Brook's song…….the song that brought back the memories he thought he had long forgotten. Zoro was silent while he listened to the quiet humming of the boy. All the other loud shouting and the band's music seemed to drown out and all he could hear was that…tune. "Where did you hear that?" Zoro said in a whisper that sounded almost threatening or…. desperate. Which was silly because why would the greatest swordsman in the world be desperate to know where a little boy heard a familiar song? Zoro stared down at the table with shadows over his eyes and his arms crossed so tightly over his chest Isamu thought the man's arms were going to snap off.

Surprisingly, Isamu heard the swordsman's question and was delighted that Zoro was finally talking to him. "You know it, right? It was a song made about Luffy-san." Isamu smiled sadly as he looked down at his shoe. He began tracing out the cracks in the aged table with the tip of his finger. "Brooke wrote it for him after he died…."

"Yah, I know."

The two of them stayed quiet and didn't move an inch. It wasn't an awkward silence like the ones before when Zoro refused to talk. It was a sort of soothing silence that was for Luffy, a silence to remember him and all the great things he's done for the world. Monkey. D. Luffy, the greatest pirate….and person this world has ever had the privilege to know. At least, that's what Zoro and Isamu thought, that was one common thing they both shared. They both adored Luffy. "He was the greatest pirate ever….and he always fought for what he believed in." Isamu broke the silence, but it seemed like he was talking to himself, he was reminding himself of what he couldn't be.

Zoro lifted his head up. "Yah….." He paused for a moment. "But……there was one thing I hated about him."

Isamu shot his head up at the comment, eyes widened and full of shock. He didn't think there was anything to hate about the man he aimed to be, and to hear it coming from the one man who knew and loved Luffy the most was definitely appalling. Isamu couldn't help but stare at the swordsman, waiting for a reason to his outrageous mention of Luffy. Zoro couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the young boy's reaction. Isamu was leaning towards him with his elbows on the table and hands clenched into fists, and he was hovering above his seat with his ass sticking out into the air. He was pouting slightly, probably without even realising it, and he had a determined and strong look on his face. This boy…..he really did admire Luffy, and he still does. Isamu at first uttered out a little "what?" And then began stuttering a lot, trying to find the right words. After a few minutes, he shouted out into Zoro's face. "WHAT'S THERE TO HATE ABOUT LUFFY?"

Several people were watching the pair's interaction with each other and several more turned their heads at the young boy's outburst. Few of the ones watching laughed at the famous pirate's face but than quickly turned away when a glare from the swordsman was directed their way. Zoro grimaced at the sudden shout that shattered his eardrums and spit all over his scowling face. He wiped off all of the boy's saliva off and opened his eyes to see Isamu sitting down on his seat, looking embarrassed by his sudden outburst at the swordsman. Zoro calmly took a big chug of his drink and set the glass back down, while trying not to startle the young boy across from him.

"All right, I'll tell you."

Isamu looked up, his face full of confusion.

"The reason I hate Luffy."

Isamu's mouth opened a little, as if to say something but kept quiet after Zoro sent him a look that said if you say one more word you can forget about me telling you. Zoro then looked back at all his times with Luffy, something he's never done in a long time. The happy, heart-warming moments, and the moments that he kept locked away in his heart since Luffy's death. He smiled, because he realized something.

He missed Luffy.

"_HEY ZOROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"_

_Luffy landed with a loud thump on his first mate's lap. Zoro woke up with a start at the sudden added weight on his lap and groaned loudly._

"_GAH!"_

"_Zoro! You're awake!" Luffy laughed out loud, completely oblivious at Zoro's discomfort._

_It took a few minutes for the swordsman to recover and say something other than GAH! "Luffy, I thought you promised that you would let me sleep today!" Zoro said, still wincing at the pain of Luffy's body slamming on top of him against the hardwood of the Thousand Sunny._

_Luffy thought about it for a moment then grinned. "That's right, I did promise!" Luffy said while grinning at the grumpy man in front of him._

"_But you__woke me up right now!" Zoro yelled hoping that he could knock some sense into the clueless pirate._

_Luffy had a sudden look of realization on his face and laughed at his carelessness. "Ah, sorry Zoro!" He leaned in closer to Zoro's face so that their noses were touching. "I guess I forgot." Zoro sighed, it's not like he expected his captain to leave him alone for more than an hour. And it's not like he didn't like the warmth of Luffy's body pressed up against him with his breath tickling Zoro's nec- Wait, what?_

_Zoro didn't even notice when Luffy snuggled up closer to him. His head was resting on __his__ chest and his __flexible __arms were wrapped around __Zoro's__ neck while he was still sitting on __his first mate's __lap. Zoro wondered if Luffy was sleeping but knew the boy was wide awake when he saw that he was smiling. Zoro just smirked and placed his chin on Luffy's head while his arms hugged Luffy into a tighter embrace. Luffy giggled when Zoro held him tighter and they stayed like this for a __while._

_Until the rest of the crew came to spy on them and take pictures of their __heart warming moment__. But a glare from Zoro sent most of them away._

"_Hey, you're Zoro right?"_

_Zoro looked up from staring at the surrounding dirt to a smiling boy standing in front of him._

"_I'm Luffy, the future pirate king!"_

_The man raised an eyebrow at what he was pretty was a psychopath escaped from the asylum. __Zoro panted as he tried to reply. "You……they're going to kill you if they see you on the execution site." Zoro stood in the middle of a fenced execution site with his arms and waist tied to a wooden cross. He was covered in blood and exhausted from starvation, unlike the bubbly boy who was smiling at Zoro._

_Luffy grinned. "I've decided, you're going to join me!" Luffy said with full confidence in himself. Zoro looked at the young teen as if he were crazy, why would he join a__ fool __like him? "I'm not joining __to become __a pirate like you."_

"_Yes, you are!"_

"_Don't go deciding that by yourself!"_

_Luffy ignored the swordsman's protests of becoming a pirate. "I have to become the greatest swordsman in the world no matter what for a promise that I made."_

_Luffy smiled at him in wonder. "You're a swordsman? That's so cool!" Zoro stared at the young pirate who was acting like a six-year old child waiting in line for a __ride at the fair__. Luffy stopped for a moment and turned his head left to right, as if searching for something. "Hey, if you're a swordsman, where are your swords?" Luffy asked curiously as he tilted his head slightly to the left._

"_That guy……Helmeppo, he said if I can survive like this for a month, he'd give me my swords back." Zoro gasped out the last word. He coughed out a few drops of blood on the wet, muddy ground._

_Luffy raised his head up. "So……your swords are somewhere in that tower, right?" _

"_Yah, probably."_

_Luffy grinned. "Yosh! Then I'll go get them back and you'll have to join me!" He chuckled with his hands on his hips._

_Zoro said nothing and stared into the eyes of the man he just only recently met. There was something about this kid that made Zoro want to believe in him and risk everything he had on him. As Luffy walked towards the marine building, Zoro's eyes followed his every step. He didn't believe it, this guy was about to risk his life for a complete stranger and a bad guy no less. Zoro was suddenly filled with fear and panic as Luffy got farther and farther away, Zoro was worried. If he died……what the hell would he do then?…_

"_Luffy."_

_Luffy stopped and half turned his head at Zoro's call._

"_Don't do anything stupid."_

_Luffy looked back over his shoulder and grinned. "Don't worry, I promise!"_

_Zoro put his head down and smirked in relief. _

_Idiot……who would worry about him?_

"_ZOROO!!"_

_Zoro flinched as he heard the young boy call out his name, because that was usually followed by him crash landing onto Zoro. He shielded himself with his arms and braced himself for the impact. A few minutes passed and Zoro remained in the same position, shielded and unmoving._

"_Zoro, what are you doing?" Luffy tilted his head in curiosity._

_Zoro opened his eyes and saw a rather confused looking captain staring at back at him. He slowly lowered his defence. "Uh……nothing." Zoro said slightly freaked out by the fact that Luffy, the over energetic pirate, was standing calmly in front of him without attempting to glomp him. Not that he minded not having bruises all over his body._

_Luffy sat down beside Zoro and crossed his legs while looking up at the clouds floating above. Zoro stared at him, he knew something was wrong with Luffy but couldn't figure out what. He kept pondering on the possibility that he did something to hurt the boy's feelings until Luffy spoke up._

"_Zoro."_

_The said man turned towards Luffy._

"_What would you do if I died?"_

"…"

_Now Zoro wasn't expecting Luffy to say that. Normally, he wouldn't be this serious unless it was something important. The swordsman stared at Luffy with curious eyes while Luffy rocked back and forth with his focus locked on the movements of the clouds. Zoro couldn't find the words to reply to something like that. What would he do if Luffy died? He had thought about the possibility before, but didn't think that Luffy was capable of dying so easily. He couldn't die, he was Luffy. This swordsman wouldn't let him go; he was just too weak for that. _

_Zoro crossed his arms and closed his eyes with a face that seemed to be thinking deeply for an answer._

"_Will you promise me something Zoro?" Luffy said it immediately as if he didn't expect Zoro to answer the first question._

_Zoro didn't move or make a sound._

"_If something happens to me……take care of everyone else, okay?" Luffy took his eyes off the sky and looked down at the wooden floor. "It's the duty of a first mate…" He whispered the last part, obviously not wanting to force it on Zoro._

_Zoro seemed to be unaffected by Luffy's sudden request. He raised his arms and placed them behind his head as a way of getting comfortable. He paused for a moment before saying anything. "All right, but you have to promise me something too."_

_Luffy gazed at Zoro with wonder of what he could possibly want._

"_Don't die."_

_It was Luffy's turn to be speechless; his first mate was asking him to promise an impossible act. How do you respond to that, without breaking his heart or his promise? Luffy almost wished he could guarantee that promise, he didn't want to die._

_But even he wasn't immortal._

_So, Luffy laughed. And he turned to Zoro. _

"_Okay, I promise."_

_Even when he knew it was a lie._

_The warm sunlight radiated against their skin warming them to the very innards of their body. The cold wind caressed their skin, brushing past it as it battled against the sun's rays. Nine pirates stood alone on a single ship docked at the pier of a small town. They gazed out into the horizon where the sun was sinking into the ocean and saw a row of endless white sails. The wind blew harshly and the white ships sped up towards the crew, they stood nonchalantly, as if they feared nothing._

_Sanji puffed out a cloud of smoke. "We're gone for ten minutes and the marines already found us." He placed the cigarette back between his lips._

_Franky scowled at the sight of the ships, Brooke laughed at a joke that nobody heard him say, Robin said and did nothing, and Nami, Chopper, and Usopp looked horrified to death._

_Zoro calmly turned to Luffy who was beside him. "So Captain, what should we do?"_

_Luffy was holding onto his hat with his right hand to prevent his treasure from flying away. His hat waved wildly in the wind while covering Luffy's eyes. Then he grinned, and gazed excitedly out at the incoming ships._

"_We beat them, of course!" His entire crew looked at their captain, some were in bit disbelief, and some smiled at him. But for some reason they all relaxed at his words and faced the horizon with Luffy with new found confidence. Somehow all their worries were gone by just hearing him say it would be all right with his confident tone of voice. As long as Luffy was by their sides fighting together, it would be all right._

_It will be all right._

_They came in fast and attacked even faster. The larger ships had massive cannons and they fired cannonballs that weighed even heavier than the ship itself. One flew straight towards the Thousand Sunny and the crew that stood upon it. They all jumped their separate ways before the cannonball exploded against the Sunny's automatic shield. When they landed safely on the dock, the smaller ships had docked the pier and thousands of marine soldiers flooded the port surrounding the Straw-hat crew. It wouldn't be a problem for Black Leg Sanji, Roronoa Zoro the Pirate Hunter, and Straw Hat, Monkey .D. Luffy. The entire crew attacked the soldiers with ease and took little time in defeating them. A wall of smoke enveloped them from all the destruction they caused to the poor little town they were visiting. They emerged out of the dusty fog unscathed and without a single scratch. A cannonball was hurled towards Zoro's direction in an attempt to blow him to smithereens. Zoro expertly jumped up to slice the cannonball up before it could reach his friends. But as soon as his sword touched it, a white light flashed from the ball and exploded right in the marimo's face. He was thrown back from the force of the explosion onto the stone ground. Zoro slid against the stony ground and landed on a pile of rubble. His green hair was streaked with crimson and he was feeling woozy from the massive loss of blood. Zoro lay on the ground unable to move, he could only faintly make out his nakama's voices._

"_Shit! What kind of cannonball was that?"_

"_It must be a new invention they created……Everyone, don't touch the cannonballs! It has some sort of sensor that'll blow right up in your face if you do!"_

"_What? Then what do we do? Dodge it? It will destroy the entire island!"_

"_We can attack the ships directly!"_

"_No……That's impossible. Look at the distance between the island and them; even Captain-san wouldn't be able to stretch far enough to reach them. And if we took the ship, we would be dead before we reached them."_

"_WHA? Then we have to run!"_

"_OHOHOO, Usopp-kun! You may not have noticed but we are completely surrounded!"_

"_What do you want to do then? Do you want to end up like Zoro?"_

"_ZORO!"_

_Zoro could only whisper out his captain's name before everything went black._

_He felt so tired and his body ached all over. He tried to move but that only worsened the pain so he stayed still. Zoro opened his eyelids a millimetre open, but they were so heavy and he hadn't the strength to even lift a finger. He just wanted to sleep…Zoro fully closed his eyes and was seconds away from dozing off._

"_LUFFY!!!!!!" Zoro's eyes snapped wide open. He sat up at the realization of their situation. That's right; he was knocked out by that cannonball. He scanned the room he was in, it was literally falling apart. The stone walls that surrounded him had giant holes in them and it was no bigger than the size of the bed he was lying on. Zoro slowly rose from the bed wincing in pain from the bruises covering his body; thankfully someone bandaged his body and stopped the bleeding before he bled to death. He walked outside to what seemed to be the town, or what was left of it. Dust filled the atmosphere and made it look like fog, the stone houses so perfectly built was now crumbling to rubble in the streets. The sky was gray, Zoro wasn't sure if it was because of the smoke or the lousy weather. He began looking for the source of the voice he had heard before. And why…why did they call out Luffy's name? Dread suddenly filled his mind but was pushed away immediately. After a few minutes, Zoro reached the pier he last remembered being in. He stopped and listened to the howling of the wind._

"_LUFFY!"_

_Zoro turned his head to the right where he could hear the faint sound of someone sobbing. He headed in that direction, he could have ran but he was afraid of what he might see beyond the dust and stones. His body started to tremble but the swordsman shook it off and gathered up his courage to face what lay beneath the fog. A fierce wind blew away all the dust that blocked his vision and the sight before him suddenly became all too clear. A wave of nausea fell through his entire body at the grotesque sight that stood in front of his once again trembling body. Luffy was on the ground, his blood literally everywhere with a wounded Chopper covered in his captain's blood. Zoro ran towards to where Luffy lay on the ground covered in his blood and his straw hat still in hand. Chopper was beside him crying his eyes out, desperately trying to heal Luffy. Luffy's chest raised up and down with every pained breath he made. _

_Chopper saw Zoro but didn't stop his treatment. "Zo-zorooo!" His eyes were watering and his hooves were trembling._

"_Chopper…" Zoro looked to Chopper and got down on his knees beside his captain. He saw Luffy rasping with every breath he took in, he was glad to see him alive but that didn't relieve him in any way._

_He knew he was going to die._

"_Luffy…" Zoro reached out to touch his face, but he was afraid that somehow his touch would break the delicate boy in front of him. He pulled his hand away._

_Luffy saw Zoro beside him and smiled. "Zoro…" He was smiling but the swordsman saw the pain in that smile, even Luffy couldn't hide it. "You're awake……I'm glad…I was worried for a second."_

_Baka. How could he worry about him while in the state he was in? Zoro was shaking and tears began to form at the corner of his eyes. "Luffy…" He mentally slapped himself for the way he was acting. Idiot, can't you say something else other than his name? Zoro tried to say something but Luffy cut in before he had the chance to._

"_Don't worry, Zoro……I'll be okay…" Luffy gasped out and smiled. _

_He was lying. He wouldn't be okay; he wouldn't even live for another hour. Tell me Luffy…how……how are you going to be okay when you have a five-inch thick metal pole sticking through your body?_

_Luffy chuckled weakly as if he could hear Zoro's thoughts. "I'll find a way…because I promised."_

_Zoro just stared at him in shock. Luffy lifted up his left hand and gently grabbed the smooth rod that pierced his right side. "Chopper…how's my condition look?"_

_Chopper looked at him with tears streaking down his face. Luffy smiled weakly back, he knew the answer. But Chopper wiped away his tears and answered his beloved captain. "Y-your right lung is punctured and it destroyed your liver……b-but it missed your heart and…"_

"_I'm going to die aren't I?"_

_Chopper looked up with hesitation and slowly nodded. He tried to hold back his tears and to stay quiet, for Luffy's sake, but he couldn't handle it. Chopper cried and buried his face in his furry arms. "I'm sorry, Luffy! I can't even save you or do anything for you…I –I-I don't deserve to be called a doctor! I'm so sorry!!" Chopper's wails filled the silent atmosphere with cries of grief and sorrow. It then suddenly hit Zoro, how important Luffy was to this crew, how they relied on him for everything and how he somehow brightened their lives with his very existence._

_And Zoro would never see that again. _

_Luffy stared sadly at Chopper. "Don't say that Chopper… You're a great doctor." Luffy grinned showing blood stains on his teeth. "You're the greatest doctor I've ever met and I know you'll be able to realize your dream of curing every single disease…Chopper… thank you…for journeying with me and being my friend…"_

_Chopper raised his head in disbelief and wondered how his captain could say everything he wanted to hear. _

_Luffy smiled brightly after knowing he reassured one of his nakama. Then he turned to his first mate, Zoro, and gave him one of his goofy grins._

"_Hey, Zoro."_

_Zoro wanted to say something meaningful before his captain left, but he couldn't. "Hey, Luffy."_

_They stayed in silence for a moment. The raven haired boy let out a small cough._

_His chest continued to slowly rise up and down. Luffy let out another cough but this one was more violent than the rest; he was choking on his own blood. He threw up a large amount of red liquid staining his chin and tattered red shirt. The boy smiled weakly up at the swordsman. "I'm sorry Zoro……I won't be able to keep my promise…I'm really sorry…"_

"_Don't worry Luffy."_

_Luffy's gasping for breath eased down._

_Zoro forcibly twitched his lips into a smirk. "I'll still keep my end of the bargain."_

_Luffy gazed into his eyes and he knew that Zoro wasn't lying, even though Luffy broke his promise. The dying boy grinned and tears began to fall from his eyes. "Thanks, Zoro." _

_Zoro said nothing and embraced Luffy, while being extra careful of the metal bar that would end his captain's life. Chopper cried silently and turned his back towards them to give the two some privacy. Luffy rested his chin on top of Zoro's shoulder and let his tears fall down his face soaking the first mate's shirt. The straw hat boy's entire frame was shaking in fear as he clutched on for his dear life to the body holding him._

_Luffy whispered to Zoro so only he could hear. "I don't want to die Zoro…I want to be with everyone some more……" Luffy smiled a little. "And find one piece together…all our dreams…were going to come true…" He gasped out a shaky breath with each word he spoke._

_Zoro closed his eyes. "I know, Luffy. I know."_

_At the moment, Luffy grinned and raised his head close to Zoro's ear and whispered a few words to his first mate so only he could hear. Then without a sound or warning, his body went limp and his eyelids closed, and the big grin that was once on his face faded to a soft smile. The straw hat Luffy treasured so dearly fell out of his cold hand and landed in a puddle with a small splash. The swordsman continued to hold his captain, even though he knew he was dead and wouldn't come back. Zoro wasn't ready to let him go just yet…He still felt alive, even if there was no pulse, no breath from his captain, not a single sign of life…Zoro could still feel the burning will of his captain lingering in the dead, lifeless body. How could he be dead when his presence was clearly there? After a while, he laid Luffy on the ground in front of him. He didn't even notice when Chopper came by his side to mourn his lifesaver. And without knowing, he held the sobbing reindeer in his arms as they gazed upon their dead captain before them. _

_Zoro sighed. It really was the end, wasn't it?_

_The sound of footsteps crunching dry leaves began nearing the one place even brave men or small children did not dare to wander. The footsteps stopped at his grave, the man named Zoro stood over his former captain's grave and stared at the tombstone on top of the dirt hill. A light breeze fell through the crisp autumn air causing few of the nearby animals to shiver. Autumn leaves danced lightly in the wind around him and soon eventually fell unto the dirt before him. He gently got on one knee so he was on eye level with the engraved writing that seemed to repeatedly go over in his mind and mock him. He kept one hand in his beige coat pocket and took out the other to tenderly stroke the smooth cold surface of the polished rock in front of him. The stone was cold; it chilled him to his very bone. His fingertips gently trailed down from the top part of the piece to the face of the shape where he felt the shape of a dead man's name carved into the stone. Zoro mouthed the name, but he did not say it out loud in fear of tainting the name with his voice. How this man longed for the boy that lay buried six feet under the ground, how he craved to touch his soft flesh once more and feel his breath upon his breath. The thought warmed him, but it did not last long. This man knew that fantasy would be no more, he may be a dreamer, but he was no fool. He gazed upon the tombstone for several minutes, than got up, and reluctantly began to take his leave. This was a resting place for the dead, he was still among the living, and he did not belong here. He was a busy man; he had two graves to visit now. The thought made him weaken. Dead leaves filled the ground at his feet and he was forced to walk over them while listening to the crunching beneath his thick boots. Zoro didn't look back as he walked, he couldn't look back, if he looked back now as he walked…_

_He would never be able to move forward again._

_When the shining stone was clearly out of view, he looked up at the clear blue sky and the pure white clouds like he never saw them before. The sky was beautiful and it radiated above him like a perfect being, giving people hope and content._

_It was beautiful._

_So Zoro decided to whisper to the wind, the clouds, and the sky, the very words Luffy had told him, just for him. _

"…_I'm sorry for the lie…I could not keep."_

_Zoro inhaled the cold air in sharply and slowly blew out a small cloud of air. He began walking again, he didn't know where he was going but he had to leave this place._

_The wind howled loudly in his ears._

_Even the wind seemed to be in pain today._

Zoro played with his empty mug that still had a few drops of booze left at the bottom of the glass. At first, he attempted to spin the cup round on its edge but failed repeatedly so he decided to just rock the glass back and forth between his palms. He stared lazily at the glass and appeared to be bored after telling his story to a complete stranger. His eyes strayed from the mug to the boy's face. Confusion and despair. Those were two words to describe how the boy looked right now. It was the first time Zoro had told that to anyone so he didn't what reaction to expect. He averted his attention back to his former glass of alcohol and began tracing the rim of the glass with his fingers.

Isamu looked up at the swordsman in slight confusion. "Why did you hate him?"

Zoro tipped the glass towards him with his index finger.

"He never kept his promises."

Isamu stared at him in disbelief.

Zoro smiled. "But…"

That's Luffy.

DOA: ….This may be my first and last story……I bid you farewell…for now


End file.
